Page 55 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

VincentandSharpewerefacing off in the observation box above me while Erik slowly advanced on me, his sword held at the ready with the blade glinting ominously in the dim gallery lighting.

My gaze flicked back and forth between the bear of a vampire approaching me with murder in his eyes and the box where I could barely make out what was happening between Sharpe and Vincent. By the straggled noises that could only belong to Dr. Sharpe and the panicked expressions on the Boston vampires who sat in the crowd, Vincent had finally gotten his hands on Sharpe and was giving the traitor the beating he deserved.

I had to hand it to Vin and me.

We knew how to put on a fucking show.

I dropped my attention back to Erik Thorn and smirked. “Is this being filmed by any chance? Because if it is, I’d like a copy.”

“You think this is a joke?” He sneered. “You murdered at least a dozen of my men. You’ve made a mockery of our lord’s magic. And you make a mockery of the throne by acting worthy of its inheritance.”

My smile slipped away, and I stood a little taller. “I am worthy. Dagon makes a mockery of himself. He’s nothing but a cowardly snake. Do you see me running from my enemies? Nope. And my bare tits are out, and you’ve got a sword. But you’d still rather kneel to him?” I shook my head, snorting. “The dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. Now that’s a joke.”

“You may be powerful. But you don’t have what it takes to rule our people,” Erik said as he approached me, his oily grin making my bare skin crawl as his eyes made a lazy descent down the length of my naked body.

“You’d make strong heirs. I’ll give you that.” The vampire licked his lips, and his chest heaved with heavy breaths. “I can see that monster’s seed leaking down your thigh... I’m almost envious of your hybrid mate. The blood in your veins makes you strong, so you can survive bearing vampire children.” Erik stopped in his tracks for a moment, his head tilting slightly to the side as thought churned in the pools of his eyes. “Too bad touching you means death. Your father will skull-fuck anyone stupid enough to bury their sword in your slit.”

“Yeah, so I’ve heard. So do I get a sword? Or pants, at least? I’m just thinking of you and how embarrassing it’s gonna be when the naked, unarmed mortal brings you to your knees.”

“If you’re truly worthy of being our queen, then you need none of those things to...” His voice trailed off, another lewd grin tipping his lips. “Put me on my knees, as you say.”

I was almost glad Vincent was occupied with Sharpe. Otherwise, he’d steal away the pleasure of beating Erik’s creepy ass. And that right lay solely with me.

“Let’s get on with the freaking program,” I snapped at the ancient vampire.

He growled at me, spittle flying from his bared fangs as he surged forward with a pace that took me by surprise. The aisle where we stood was pretty narrow, leaving little room to maneuver unless we barreled our way through the theater seating. Luckily, most of the chairs in our immediate surroundings were empty, with only a few spectators dotting the rows in our vicinity.

I leaped onto the back of one chair a few rows in, but miscalculated the reach of his sword. I bent backward, my spine screaming as it curved in a way it wasn’t meant to. The blade severed a chunk of my hair and sliced a thin cut in my flesh that ran from one end of my collarbone to the other.

A curtain of crimson drizzled down my chest, streaking me in a fresh coat of blood. It didn’t bother me. The stuff was becoming my war paint.

I leaped back another two rows, giving myself space. Breast heaving, I glanced over at a ginger-haired woman in a seat just a couple down from where I was perched. She looked at me with something etched in the corners of her eyes that I couldn’t place. Then I scented her. She carried Erik’s scent. On closer inspection, I saw the silvery scar of a claiming mark on her throat. This was his mate.

As I processed this information, my belly twisted. The obvious answer was to use her to gain power over him. Threaten her. Make him yield to me out of fear for his mate.

But I shoved the idea out of my mind. No. Not like that. That’s a move my father would have made. I’d sooner throw myself off the top of this building than claim the throne in any way that would make Thomas Knight proud.

“Get away from her!” Erik bellowed, jumping onto the back of the theater chairs and walking on their backs to get to me. His tatted biceps rippled as he took another swing for me. The blade smashed into one chair, sending shards of wood flying. I snapped my hand out to catch one chunk sizable enough to function as a stake and flung it back at him. He smacked it out of the air with his sword like a baseball player swinging for a home run.

Bloody freaking fuck. The reflexes on this man were astounding.

Jumping into the air, he landed on the other side of me, his heavy boots straddling the armrests as he loomed over me. “You can’t run from me, little girl.”

I lifted my eyes to meet his and donned a honied smile. “I’m not running. Take your best shot.”

Confusion carved a V into Erik’s brow, but he didn’t hesitate. He brought his blade up and swung it back down, aiming to lop off my fingers where they clung to the back of my chair.

I had to remember what Corry taught me that night at the skating rink. I had to trust my instincts to protect me, and right now, I was running on feral adrenaline that seemed to function as a backup generator. It was that power that filled my body with this new kind of dark energy. It made me feel like I was on a whole new plane of existence. One where none of these assholes could ever hope to reach.

As Erik brought the sword down, I leapt to the side at the last second before he’d have time to pull the weapon back. It cut right into the wood and got lodged long enough for Erik to have to tug to free it. Before he had a chance, I took that second of time I’d bought myself and slashed my claws across his face. He released the sword just like I’d hoped and tumbled backward into the arms of his mate.

I lifted the bastard sword easily with one arm, directing the blade’s tip at the BC leader’s face. As the metal brushed his forehead, almost every single vampire in the theater stood to their feet, ready to rush to his aid.

They all cared about him. Respected him. Shit, Erik would make for a more fit opponent than Dagon. At least Erik Thorn had balls big enough to face me.

“Sit back down!” I screamed at all of them, my voice echoing through the theater. “Anyone so much as twitches, and I’ll kill him. Don’t be the reason your leader dies.”

I fully expected the vampires of the BC would laugh at the naked mortal who stunk of blood and cum, or at least a few would get up and try to kill me on Erik’s behalf.

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